Do I pay storage costs for my inventory?

At Cenfil, you do not pay storage fees. Your inventory is kept in the warehouse without any charges per pallet, per location, or per cubic metre. You pay for the actions: processing and shipping orders, and handling returns.

Why that matters

Storage fees are common in the fulfilment market and are usually charged per pallet or location per week. This affects your product range choices: a slow-moving item costs money as long as it sits there, even during periods when you are not selling any.

Without storage fees, you don't have to weigh those factors for every single product. You can try out a new line or bring in seasonal stock early without the bill immediately adding up.

What you pay instead

The costs are based on the services provided: a fee per order and a fee per order line, within a tiered pricing structure based on the number of shipments per period. Pick-and-pack services and standard packaging materials are included in this.

This means your logistics costs move along with your sales rather than your inventory levels. A quiet period costs you less, and a busy period costs more because more items were sold during that time.

Keeping it in proportion

There is one condition. Your storage space grows along with you, as long as it stays in proportion to the number of shipments you send out. That exact proportion is why a rate per pallet is not needed.

If that proportion changes significantly, for example because you make a large bulk purchase that will take you two years to sell out, we will discuss this in advance so there are no surprises later.

Inventory that you still plan consciously

No storage costs doesn’t mean inventory management takes care of itself. Inventory that sits idle is still money tied up, and for products with an expiration date, there’s also a time limit. The difference is that this decision is about your purchasing and not about a monthly bill from the warehouse.

In your Picqer account, you can see in real time how many of each item are in stock. That's where you can see which items are rotating and which ones are staying on the shelf.

What to look out for in other proposals

• Are storage costs charged per pallet, per location, or per cubic metre?
• Per week, per four weeks, or per month?
• Is there a minimum number of pallets or locations required?
• What happens to stock that stays in the warehouse for a long time?

Take these amounts into account before comparing per-package rates. A low rate per shipment with storage fees on top can end up being more expensive than a slightly higher rate without them.